A fifth person has died from last month's bus crash on Interstate 10 near the desert town of Blythe.
Thomas Madrid , 86, of Clairemont, man died Tuesday from injuries he suffered May 21.He was on the bus returning from a visit with family members in New Mexico.
“We know he's taken that trip many times, but we never expected him not to come home,” said Linda Madrid Lugo, Madrid’s daughter and eldest child. “Oh gosh, Dad was an honest, hardworking man. He loved his family.”
The bus, operated by El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express, crashed on Interstate 10 near Blythe.
Authorities say it struck metal pipes that fell from a jackknifed truck. Dozens of people were hurt.
Lugo says she’s shocked her father can go through so much in his 86 years, and yet have his life cut short by this tragedy. Her father is a purple heart recipient who served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War and as a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
If there's one thing Lugo says she does know right now, it's that her father loved his family and his country.
“First and foremost, he was proud to be a U.S. Marine and a U.S. citizen and serve his country. That's my dad,” she told NBC 7.
Madrid is not the only local to have died from injuries suffered in that crash.
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Jessica Garcia, 30, of Chula Vista was also among the victims.
Riverside County coroner's officials identified those killed in the crash as Los Angeles County reisdents Pablo Ramirez, 67, of Pico Rivera, Angel Hernandez, 49, of Hacienda Heights and Luz Rivera, 44, of Compton.
Madrid leaves behind a wife of 66 years, three children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
